Any P3D news?

[Dan Pergau]

Hello,

 

As mentioned in the road map there were plans to bring Boise, Van Nuys, Palm Beach and other sceneries to P3D. Are these still in production? 
 

I’m staying with P3D for the foreseeable future as I find MSFS far too buggy (ie still no snow plows?). I am certain there are other P3D users out there too. If v6 is in the works I am hoping that Orbx will support it. 
 

Thanks,

Dan

[Ken Q]

I too am a P3D v5 loyalist.  As pretty as it seems to be, for a number of reasons I have no interest in MSFS.  Therefore I am very, very disappointed that Orbx and other developers seem to have abandoned P3D.  I too would love to see the airports Dan mentions released.  In addition I'd very much like to see Camarillo, and Fresno and any other airports that are controlled in PilotEdge. Add to that, Bullhead AZ.  The enhanced version in the SoCal region has serious elevation issues making it unusable, and it's such a great airport. I scoff all of  these up in a heartbeat!

 

So much for the current Black Friday sale.  There is nothing left for me to buy.

 

Ken

Edited November 24, 2022 by Ken Q

[Bullfox]

My P3D drive is up to 1.75 tb.  Mostly Orbx scenery.  I just spent a fair amount of money on the Black Friday sale.  I would definitely like to see more Orbx P3D scenery.  I have no plans to delve into MSFS.

[Ken Q]

59 minutes ago, Bullfox said:

My P3D drive is up to 1.75 tb.  Mostly Orbx scenery.  I just spent a fair amount of money on the Black Friday sale.  I would definitely like to see more Orbx P3D scenery.  I have no plans to delve into MSFS.

When I had my new Jetline computer built last March I had two 2TB hard drives installed.  I'd like to fill them with even more Orbx scenery.

 

Ken

[Stillwater]

Indeed, some word from our preferred scenery provider would be motivating here.

You know I also stay with p3d, for the time being and for some reasons. Sure I am willing to use more than one simulator, BTW.

[paulb]

I enjoyed P3D as a follow on from FSX for a number of years. Orbx were at the forefront of new scenery design with their regions and then True Earth products. I purchased 90% of their scenery library.

 

But realistically, I cannot see any payware developers releasing new products for P3Dv4/5. The current market for MSFS is huge in comparison. So that is where interest is inevitably now focused. XP12 will no doubt also receive interest from developers.  On the positive side, there are already a huge number of add-ons available for P3D currently. No doubt, if P3Dv6 is released then it will receive the attention of developers.

 

I have MSFS, P3D and XP11 installed on my pc and will be purchasing XP12 when the public beta ends.

 

I now spend the majority of my time using MSFS. At first, I was not happy with it, but I persevered. The developers continue frequently to produce free updates which is to be applauded. Graphically (which is important to me as much of my flying is VFR) it is amazing and in a different league to all simulators previously released.

 

Just my thoughts .

[John Heaton]

16 hours ago, Ken Q said:

When I had my new Jetline computer built last March I had two 2TB hard drives installed.  I'd like to fill them with even more Orbx scenery.

 

Ken

Now Ken  - the ideal situation would allow me to give you my portfolio of P3D V5 software

 

- viZ---!2 Globals - 13 Regions - 10 True Earths - 6 Cityscapes - 40 airports - 8 Aircraft - 23 Miscellaneous items - 

 

all purchased from Orbx - plus a stack of aircraft and miscellaneous from  Carenado - Just Flight etc

 

I wish I still had the money - but I have to admit - I enjoyed using them - until MS offered me the new sim - and regrettably -  

no transfers 

Edited November 25, 2022 by John Heaton

[Ken Q]

A very nice thought, John. Thank you.

I already own all of the Orbx products that I can use: all of the U.S. Regions and True Earth, and almost all of the U.S. airports.  But there are so many more sceneries that could be done.  And I acknowledge that MSFS is the mass market darling.  But P3D and X-Plane have a large following with money to spend on quality add-ons.

 

Ken

[EasternT3]

I agree it'll be nice for P3D users to get an update not just from Orbx but all major devs. I guess no news is good news?

 

I think the Navigraph survey will be a good indicator this year for devs. It's been a big year for MSFS in terms of high fidelity aircraft landing on the platform - which was a big blockage for a sub-set of P3D users migrating over. Yes they'll be people who will never leave P3D (some never left FSX) but the survey should provide a decent snapshot of the market left for P3D.

[Ken Q]

1 hour ago, EasternT3 said:

I agree it'll be nice for P3D users to get an update not just from Orbx but all major devs. I guess no news is good news?

 

I think the Navigraph survey will be a good indicator this year for devs. It's been a big year for MSFS in terms of high fidelity aircraft landing on the platform - which was a big blockage for a sub-set of P3D users migrating over. Yes they'll be people who will never leave P3D (some never left FSX) but the survey should provide a decent snapshot of the market left for P3D.

One problem with P3D and the survey is that it lists the use of each version separately which makes MSFS use appear to wallop P3D.  However, while total use of MSFS does outnumber P3D, if the use of v.4 & v.5 are added together the difference is not as great.  At least it wasn't last year.  We'll have to see what this year brings.

 

Ken

[gaab]

On 11/24/2022 at 11:24 AM, Dan Pergau said:

I’m staying with P3D for the foreseeable future

....

If v6 is in the works I am hoping that Orbx will support it. 

 

+1

 

Gérard

[wain71]

just spent some ORBS on p3d scenery and not long ago got FT's YSSY, I do still use p3dv5 along with MSFS & XP12, it really depend on what I fancy flying so I would purchase something if I wanted it....does seem to be getting less choice about though for p3d....communication from all developers would be nice...

[iflygary]

On 11/25/2022 at 5:13 AM, paulb said:

I enjoyed P3D as a follow on from FSX for a number of years. Orbx were at the forefront of new scenery design with their regions and then True Earth products. I purchased 90% of their scenery library.

 

But realistically, I cannot see any payware developers releasing new products for P3Dv4/5. The current market for MSFS is huge in comparison. So that is where interest is inevitably now focused. XP12 will no doubt also receive interest from developers.  On the positive side, there are already a huge number of add-ons available for P3D currently. No doubt, if P3Dv6 is released then it will receive the attention of developers.

 

I have MSFS, P3D and XP11 installed on my pc and will be purchasing XP12 when the public beta ends.

 

I now spend the majority of my time using MSFS. At first, I was not happy with it, but I persevered. The developers continue frequently to produce free updates which is to be applauded. Graphically (which is important to me as much of my flying is VFR) it is amazing and in a different league to all simulators previously released.

 

Just my thoughts .

Hi Paul,

 

I would have to agree with you.  I too was very skeptical of MSFS.  As with any new item though, there is a learning curve.  Even my teenage son initially did not like MSFS.  But he has made the jump to MSFS and no longer plays P3D or XP11.  The graphics and performance of MSFS is leaps and bounds, and miles ahead of the other platforms.  To be specific, I did a flight out of Orcas Island on MSFS in the Beaver.  Just as a comparator, I decided to fire up P3Dv4 to see how similar or different the two sims were. I used the exact plane, and the exact scenery.  As good a quality as both products are( Orcas Island and the Beaver), I literally felt like I was back in the time using P3D. There truthfully is no comparison.  I remember vehemently fighting against FSX when it initially came out.  All of my comfort and quite frankly money, had been poured into FS9. How could they have taken my baby, FS9 away from me and brought this monster called FSX into my world? Then I discovered this company called Orbx was creating scenery for FSX that was mind blowing, so I had to make the change if I wanted to feel relevant. The rest is history, lol. 

 

I would encourage the skeptics to start off slowly.  Enjoy their current platforms while "toying" with MSFS.  Just as I did, I'm sure they will find themselves waking up one day and literally thinking to themselves, hmmm that's weird, I've now gone several days without touching the other sims. MSFS definitely grows on you and over time, becomes the new norm. So to your point, I don't see developers cranking out too many new products for the older sims.

[Quantum Amiga]

Well... here is some news.

 

What does the future hold... ?

Time will tell.

Cheers

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/ne ... ining.html

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/spot ... lation-r-d

https://blackshark.ai/blackshark-ai-lau ... to-anyone/

 

 

[John Heaton]

I found that very - very interesting - and the tying together of the 3 URLs - raises the possible answer to the old saw that has

been beaten to death - almost - "Will Lockheed Martin give MSFS a fight with P3D V6" - or is it too late.

 

After all - one massive reason for the success of MSFS has been this Blackshark 3D element in the scenery - and MS are reliant on Bing Sats

and LM would have the Maxar Sats - which appear to be up to date as their customers require

 

 

Or? - Will LM give us a new DCS with 3D photogrammetry using this unreal engine and Blackshark - and leave commercial simming to MSFS

 

I have seen a rumour that Orbx have been involved with DCS in an effort to improve/update the background scenarios

 

@Quantum Amiga - maybe your above URLs could be a thread on their own as a basis of forum interest

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by John Heaton

[Nick Cooper]

1 hour ago, John Heaton said:

I have seen a rumour that Orbx have been involved with DCS in an effort to improve/update the background scenarios

 

Hello John,

I assume you mean this officially announced rumour?

Official News 2022 - Page 2 - Official Updates - ED Forums (dcs.world)

Not much to do with "Any P3D news?" though. 

 

[John Heaton]

34 minutes ago, Nick Cooper said:

 

Hello John,

I assume you mean this officially announced rumour?

Official News 2022 - Page 2 - Official Updates - ED Forums (dcs.world)

Not much to do with "Any P3D news?" though. 

 

Hi Nick 

Sheesh - just too late to edit my diatribe - but thanks for confirming my 'Rumour' - the source of which my Al - whatisname brain 

couldn't compute

 

"Any P3D news" ?? - well I didn't want to steal the thunder from Quantum Amiga and his revelation of the 3 URLs as a potential discussion 

on the said Simulator --- did I?   - and start another thread which could have formatted a rumour of LM's potential attitude to the value

of Gaming graphics leading to a possible Version 6 of their well-beloved flight simulator - 

 

Quote ---  This technology capitalizes on commercial game engine advancements for an integrated, scalable architecture that leverages an extensible plugin framework for future training and visualization efforts.

Edited December 4, 2022 by John Heaton

[wolfko]

Blackshark AI have a contract with MS/Asobo and contribute a major very important part for MSFS.

I highly doubt that the terms of contract with MS/Asobo will allow them to work with Unreal Engine or LM on products which are in direct competition to MSFS. And IMO Blackshark won't have any interrest to swap MSFS for P3d. Why should they?

[John Heaton]

3 hours ago, wolfko said:

Blackshark AI have a contract with MS/Asobo and contribute a major very important part for MSFS.

I highly doubt that the terms of contract with MS/Asobo will allow them to work with Unreal Engine or LM on products which are in direct competition to MSFS. And IMO Blackshark won't have any interrest to swap MSFS for P3d. Why should they?

 this is a quote from the URL - https://blackshark.ai/blackshark-ai-lau ... to-anyone/ - for which thanks should go @Quantum Amiga 

 

""San Francisco, Orlando, November 30, 2022. blackshark.ai, the developer of a 3D Digital Twin of Earth, announced the launch of a long-awaited plugin for the Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 during I/ITSEC, now available on the Unreal Engine Marketplace to the public. The blackshark.ai Globe Plugin will stream blackshark.ai’s SYNTH3D data, containing synthetically reconstructed 3D terrain, ground textures, buildings, infrastructure, and vegetation of the entire globe based on Maxar’s satellite imagery. The freely available plugin will allow users to generate their own applications in Unreal Engine for any kind of gaming, training, simulation, and visualization projects based on the real world.""

 

The reader can make of that statement -  what they wish - I merely attempt to put forward my Marketing Experience to an analysis - in an effort to

answer the OP's thread question - and I am always the first to allow - that others may have a differing viewpoint 

 

I found the statements made by Lockheed Martin in the other 2 URLs to be quite enlightening as to their plans for the future - and I'll bet a weeks pension

that Orbx have made some notice - and one could visualise their eyes on what a P3D v6 might bring - coupled with DSC

 

MSFS a weaponless commercial aircraft simulator with great scenery - and DSC - with weapons that work over  Orbx 3D photogrammetry scenery

Edited December 4, 2022 by John Heaton

[bvdboomen]

Ok... I did not see that coming. 

I mean, Unreal engine in a flight simulator. I do wonder however, how Blackshark and Unreal will work together since Blackshark might not be as detailed as the Unreal engine can deliver. Maybe up in the sky Blackshark and satellite images and on the ground all the detail of the Unreal engine.

That's exactly what Jörg ment when he said he wants more detail on the global ground in MSFS.

 

I doubt that it already will be effective in P3D v6 unless they already worked on this since going 64-bit with v4.

Time will tell. Exciting...

 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by bvdboomen

[John Heaton]

Another opinion ?? - up to 3min 12

 

[bvdboomen]

So, am I correct when I think they essentially say it will not totally break compatibility with excisting add-ons?

[wain71]

lots of noise about this on the old web.....I thought they were saying that they didn't want to do anything that would cause problems for 3rd parties, chances are a whole new Engine would cause big issues and will developers want to update / upgrade products?.....time will tell I guess...

[wolfko]

17 hours ago, bvdboomen said:

So, am I correct when I think they essentially say it will not totally break compatibility with excisting add-ons?

 

I think even "not totally" might be too much.

[John Heaton]

12 hours ago, wain71 said:

lots of noise about this on the old web.....I thought they were saying that they didn't want to do anything that would cause problems for 3rd parties, chances are a whole new Engine would cause big issues and will developers want to update / upgrade products?.....time will tell I guess...

WEow !! - talk about de-ja vu - that took me back over 2 years ago - when almost identical comments were made - about the effect it would have on the then 3rd parties

going broke - with the new engine of MS / Asobo due in August of that year.

 

I've lost count of the numbers involved in the growth of 3rd party offerings that we now have available - not only from official markets - but take a look at 

what the famous xxx.To have to offer - and the size of our community folders - which might include "Ported" from FX/P3D - and although XP12 is still in Beta

 -xxx.To have already opened and grown their 3rd party  addons for the sim. 

 

We all have - well most of us on this forum - have readily adopted the MSFS sim because of its closeness to reality - but in one aspect - it doesn't allow

war gaming - only warbirds without the stuff that hangs down below the wings - which is exactly the business Lockheed Martin are in - both physically

and training for same.  It can't be much more of a step - in view of the leaps that have been made in writing the codes for "Study' commercial aircraft - 

for LM to do the same for war birds - and with Unreal - they have the engine to further the reality in training - air and ground FVs - a sort of "Study DSC"

 

If I understand it correctly - the Unreal engine has been developed by a gaming company - and it not too difficult to stretch one's imagination to see

a souped-up DSC type game - on X box /PS5 - now that MSFS has succeeded in getting the hardware manufacturers into the flight controller manufacturing

A game that so far is - and has been - mainly on PC. 

 

.."time will tell I guess'... - is dead to rights! - and quite honestly - at my age I couldn't care less whether my forecasts are right or wrong - since this bloke - if it

takes the same 2 years for all this to happen - will be 90 YO  - too blind and too deaf  - and too broke  - to upgrade my PC again

 

 

[John Heaton]

Another interesting two year old company using Unreal - and food for thought - (and Orbx) - and young enough to make DCS and LM to take notice

 

Metrea Simulations - Metrea

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by John Heaton

[Jorgen]

On the description of several Orbx regions for P3D v. 5, it says: "Prepar3D v5 Note: This product requires updates to be fully compatible with the new simulator. For more information please see the P3Dv5 Known Issues topic on our forum."

 

I would like to know how these updates are coming along, as I am hesitant to purchase without knowing where I stand.

 

Jorgen

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

which product(s) do you have in mind?

[Jorgen]

Hello Nick,

 

For starters Southern Alaska, Pacific Fjords, Northern Rockies and Central Rockies, but others to follow.

 

Jorgen

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

when updating all of the default airports in P3D v5, Lockheed Martin changed all of the default buildings.

As I understand it, because all of the airports in the Orbx Regions are enhanced, their exclusions

no longer exclude the default buildings and therefore some of them will appear at or near to the

locations of the P3D v4 buildings.

To update them all, in every Orbx region is, as I am sure you will realise, a Herculean task.

I believe that it is still ongoing.

 

 

[Jorgen]

Yep, I can easily imagine what a task that is!

 

I bought some other regions a comparative short while ago, and when updates are available, how will I see that? Wil they automatically be downloaded when I start Orbx Central, will I receive a notification, or how does that work?

 

Thanks -

 

Jorgen

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

when updates are ready, they appear as notifications at the top of the Orbx Central window.

[gumbypickett]

On 11/26/2022 at 10:24 PM, gaab said:

 

+1

 

Gérard

+1 

cheers

Gumby

[Dean Salman]

I see updates in central from time to time, not sure what they fix but I update them.   I use ChasePlane and for some reason I have to log in and verify the files because it has a error.  Nothing has changed, it just does that from time to time.  IF new products come out for P3D I plan to get them.